Some communication networks may provide a user with the ability to simultaneously contact a group of individuals based upon a predetermined contact list that is established by the user. With respect to e-mail communications, a user can setup a list of predetermined contacts, and a message may then be distributed to each of those contacts designated by specifying the group in the distribution menu of the email. With respect to telephony networks, push-to-talk capability exists on some mobile phones. A user can setup predetermined contact lists with the service provider so that when the user activates a particular key on the mobile phone, all parties designated in the contact list are simultaneously contacted.
The use of contact lists or groups has become quite common; however, one inherent drawback with respect to use of a contact list is the inability to dynamically adjust the contact list based upon the likelihood that one or more of the members in the group will not be available to respond to the communication sent.
In some instances, it is desirable to contact only those individuals found at a particular geographic location because those individuals who are not at the location are not able to respond to the communication in a satisfactory manner. For example, in a hospital setting, it may be desirable to contact only selected hospital personnel who are on duty at the time in order to respond to a particular kind of medical emergency. In this example, it is highly desirable to simultaneously contact all available selected personnel within the geographic location so that response time to the emergency is shortened by the high probability that at least one of the personnel will respond to the inquiry. While separate calls could be made to the selected personnel, separate calls are time consuming and the locations of the personnel are not known until the calls are made. While conventional push to talk communications could be used, many personnel may not be on duty or may not be physically located at the hospital at the time.
It is also well known that conventional intercom/paging methods are not reliable because even if one or more members of the selected group are present, some may not respond because they do not hear the page due to background noise or other distractions. Additionally, some of the members may not be present at the geographical location. Therefore, a need has arisen for generating dynamic contact lists based upon the geographic location of the members of the contact lists.